


Tale as Old as Time (abandoned)

by ArabellaTurner



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Anxiety, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Beauty and the Beast play, Bullying, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-05 16:51:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17328815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaTurner/pseuds/ArabellaTurner
Summary: The squip squad decides to join a local community theather’s production of Beauty and the Beast over the summer.Along the way, the gang must deal with Dustin Kropp’s antics, some unfortunate bullying, a charming new love rival for Christine, and a few roles that hit a little too close to home.Will their friendships be able to withstand the trials that come their way, or is happily ever after something that only occurs in stories?





	1. I love play rehersal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine discovers an ad for a local theater’s production of Beauty and the Beast and tries to convince her friends to join her in it.

“Guys, guys, looks at this!” Christine exclaimed as she ran down the stairs. Everyone was hanging out in Michael’s basement and were starting to get bored. Christine held the flier above her head. “It’s an ad for a community theater’s production of Beauty and the Beast! They are holding auditions next weekend. We should all do it!”

Everyone stared at Christine. Their school play had been one thing, but this was far more professional. “Well, I’m in!” Jeremy said, jumping up. “Yes, we knew you would be,” Chloe grumbled. Jeremy turned a little red and everyone laughed.

“I guess I’ll give it a shot too,” she then continued, surprising everyone. “I know I was totally crap in the last play, but I believe that this one has a role perfectly designed for me. Jenna, Brooke, care to join me as a bimbett?” The two other girls looked at her in shock. “Come on!” she proaded. “Think of how much fun it could be! I’m bored just sitting around and if Christine and Jeremy are going to be in the play, then I want to join too!”

Jenna chuckled. “Well, I guess there are worse things than pretending to be an air headed flirt. I just don’t see how I could gush over Gaston though!” Chloe giggled and kissed her girlfriend. Brooke looked thoughtfully over at Jake. “I think I can handle the gushing if it’s over someone I actually love.”

Jake turned bright red. “It’s perfect!” Rich suddenly cried, jumping up. “Jake, you play Gaston and I’ll be Lefou!” Everyone looked a little uncomfortable at that. “What?” Rich asked. “If the girls all get to play brainless flirts who gush over Jake, why can’t I be his dimwitted sidekick? It’s not like anyone else is playing themselves. I think this could be really fun!”

Jake looked at his friends. They all seemed really excited about this. He wasn’t crazy about taking on a role like Gaston while everyone else played his fanbase, but they all were so happy about it, he couldn’t say no.

Christine smiled at everyone. “I love your enthusiasm so much, but don’t forget that you need to audition first. You can request a role as a top priority, so there’s a good chance you guys can get the bimbetts, but I can’t promise any other role. Everyone will need to practice hard!”

Everyone agreed. Jeremy then turned to Micheal. “I noticed you haven’t agreed to join yet. Come on! I’m sure you will be amazing.” Micheal shook his head. They idea of being on the stage really didn’t appeal to him. “Come on Mikey,” Jeremy tried again. “It just won’t be the same without you.” Rich nodded empathetically. “I don’t want my boyfriend to not be in this!” he added. 

Micheal looked down. “If you want, you could work in the stage crew if you aren’t comfortable on the stage,” Christine offered, sensing his hesitation. Micheal sighed. “Oh fine. Look, I’ll go with you guys and if I feel comfortable, I’ll audition, but otherwise I’m just going to join the crew.”

Everyone agreed it was a good plan. they would prepare for the auditions the rest of the week and keep their fingers crossed they could get the parts they wanted.


	2. We make it a two person act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is preparing for the auditions in earnest, but Christine is a little worried about Michael and Jeremy.

Everyone was working hard in preparation for the auditions. Christine wasn’t sure how competitive it would be, but she still wanted to make sure that everyone got a role they would be happy with. She was pretty confident that Brooke, Chloe, and Jenna could get the roles they wanted and Jake and Rich stood a surprisingly good chance as well, but she was worried about Jeremy.

She knew that he wanted to play the lead along with her, but honestly she didn’t know if he really fit the role. He wasn’t a bad singer, but he just didn’t have the right demeanor for the Beast.

She was also worried about Michael. Everyone else was pairing up together, but he was becoming an odd man out. He seemed like he would be content with just a really basic ensemble part, but Christine knew he would be happier if he could act alongside his friends more.

So maybe it was a cruel thing to do, but Christine decided to take some matters into her own hands. “Hey Jeremy!” she said sitting down next to her boyfriend. “I’m worried about Michael and if he’ll be able to actually do the audition. I know he’s trying, but it’s clear he’s really scared.” Jeremy nodded in agreement. “I’m worried about him too. Do you think we’re forcing him to do something he doesn’t want to do? When you first suggested we all do this play, I could only think about how fun it would be for everyone to act in it together, but I’m worried now that I’m trying to force him into an uncomfortable situation.”

Jeremy and Michael had been friends for so long, that it was sometimes hard to view him as the quiet and anti-social person most people saw him as. He also knew that Michael wasn’t just a stoner because he found it fun. The weed was something he used to help his anxiety. Jeremy hadn’t seen Michael have a panic attack in a long time, but he knew that he had one during the Halloween party all those months ago. The last thing he wanted was to force Micheal to do something that could cause him pain.

“I mean, you could always ask him.” Christine said, breaking Jeremy out of his thoughts. “If you ask me, I think that he really does want to do it, but is super scared. That’s just my take on it though.” Jeremy nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll talk to him. But what do I do if he says he wants to but is scared?”

This was the moment Christine had been waiting for. She felt bad and a little manipulative for suggesting it though. Especially since she was basically using Micheal’s medical condition as a way to protect her boyfriend from disappointment. 

“Christine? What’s wrong?” Jeremy asked her. “Christine? Earth to Christine! You okay there?” Christine realized that Jeremy was taking to her and snapped out of it. “Sorry. I was just wondering what the best thing to do in that case would be.” she said quickly. “Ah,” Jeremy replied. “I was just saying, maybe it would help if he and I aimed for roles that worked together a lot.” Christine shock her head trying to determine if Jeremy had actually just suggested that.

“I mean, obviously I would love to be your prince, but I don’t know how good I am at being the Beast. I’m having trouble with the angry parts. It’s something I would like to work on, but I don’t think that it would be the right role for me right this second.”

Jeremy jumped a little when Christine grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. “So I’m guessing you agreed with me?” he asked her. She looked down, embarrassed. “I didn’t want to say anything because I don’t know for sure you wouldn’t get the part and I would love for you to be my prince, but I also really think that you and Michael would shine a lot more if you acted together in a different set of roles. I hope you aren’t mad.”

Jeremy shook his head. “How could I be mad at you? You’re the best girlfriend in the entire world!” The two of them kissed again. Jeremy would talk to Micheal later that day and suggest they go for Lumiere and Cogsworth. It wasn’t quite the same as playing Christine’s prince, but it would still be fun acting beside his best friend and Jeremy knew that Micheal would feel more comfortable that way. Micheal was already doing a lot by putting himself out there like this and Jeremy wanted to make sure to meet him halfway. Afterall, if they could make everything else a two player game, then why not make this a two person act?


	3. Auditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a week of practice and preparation, everyone goes out there and gives it their all, but will it be enough?

Everyone was nervous when it came time to audition. Michael was still wasn’t completely sure if he wanted to do this, but the idea of playing one half of a duo with Jeremy was pretty appealing. He was also really touched that Jeremy would give up on the Beast to act beside him instead. 

As Micheal took a deep breath to calm himself, he felt a hand slip into his. “You’re going to do great babe. You’ve totally got this!” Micheal smiled and squeezed the hand back. Rich had been really supportive over the past week. Well, Rich was always supportive, but he had been really encouraging lately. 

Micheal felt a little bad that he had never told Rich about his anxiety. It wasn’t really anything to be ashamed about and he knew Rich would be totally understanding, but he still found himself a little embarrassed.

“I’m glad you and the tall ass are going to aim for Luniere and Cogsworth. Those seem like perfect roles for the two of you! Although I suppose that does make us enemies!” Rich placed his hands on his heart in a dramatic fashion.

“Depends on how you play Lefou. Maybe you can come around to our side by the end. Lumiere has his feather duster girl, so Cogsworth needs someone to love!” Micheal wiggled his eyebrows. Rich laughed. “Let’s keep the weird relationships until after we already have the roles, okay?” Micheal pouted causing Rich to laugh even more. 

“You coming lover boy?” Jeremy called out. Micheal grinned, no longer worried. As long as he treated the play as just a fun chance to hang out with his friends, he would be fine. He waved goodbye to Rich and ran over to Jeremy. It was time to see what they could do!

——-

The auditions went by in a blur. Everyone agreed that Christine’s audition was flawless, but they were a little nervous about the rest. Fortunately it wasn’t a large crowd of people, so it was likely that everyone would get a part. Also fortunate was the fact that most of the others auditioning were also pretty inexperienced. Christine supposed that this was a pretty low production performance so most people really gunning to be professionals wouldn’t be here.

There were still some really talented people in the mix though. There was a somewhat quiet and a little heavyset girl that had a beautiful voice. She was a bit jumpy and nervous, but as soon as she started singing, she completely transformed.

There was also an incredibly handsome young man who just oozed charisma. Everyone agreed that he would make a perfect Gaston, but he sang the Beast’s solo for his audition, so they all hoped that was the role he would get.

Jeremy was a little jealous that such a hot guy would be paired with his girlfriend, but he assured himself that Christine wasn’t shallow and wouldn’t be swayed just by his looks and charm. He smiled to himself; she really would make a perfect Belle.

When the auditions were finally finished, everyone went out for pizza to celebrate. It would take a few days for the results to come back, but everyone was hopeful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not going to lie, I don’t really know what a standard audition process is like. I feel like for an amature production like this, it wouldn’t be super formal. I also know that at my high school, people’s preferences are considered, but ultimately the director makes the decisions. I also have no idea if people can audition in groups, but I’m sure it’s happened before. Basically, I apologize if I got the whole thing completely wrong, but I hope it’s enjoyable anyways!


	4. Results

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Results from the auditions come in and everyone is excited for rehearsals to officially start.

Once again everyone was hanging out in Micheal’s basement. It was sort of cramped for all 8 of them, but it was comfortable enough and relatively private. Not that they were doing something that required privacy.

Audition results would be out at some point during the day and they wanted to all be together when they got their parts. It was still super nerve-wracking, but at least they would have their friends there to celebrate with them or comfort them.

Brooke and Jake were currently duking it out in a battle game with the others making candy bets and cheering their friends on when suddenly Christine made a strange noise. Jake jumped in surprise causing Brooke to land a finishing move on him. There were a few groans as candy changed hands, but Christine didn’t notice. 

“It’s here!” she exclaimed. “The results have been sent out!” Everyone scrambled to grab their phone and open their email. Counting to three, they all opened it at the same time. 

Cheers were released all around as everyone realized they got the parts they wanted. A part of Jeremy was still a little disappointed that he didn’t get the role of the Beast, but he knew that Lumiere still interacted with Belle. That still didn’t stop him from worrying a little as he read the name of the actor who would be playing the Beast. It was Christopher Martinez, the charming kid he was jealous of before.

Before Jeremy could worry about it too much, he felt Micheal grab him in a bear hug, causing both of them to lose their balance and topple over. Jeremy got back up, laughing. This was fine, he told himself. This was the role he auditioned for and it was the role he wanted.

He made his way over to Christine who was literally jumping with joy and joined in. The two of them happily bounced up and down together causing the others to start throwing candy at them. “Get a room, you two!” Rich yelled before sloppily kissing Micheal. 

Jeremy smiled again. This would be fine and this was a role he wanted. As long as everyone was in the play together, he didn’t have anything to worry about. His friends were amazing and his girlfriend loved him back.

——-

The next day was the first day of rehersal. Usually Jeremy and Michael would come by to get Christine, but Michael had a dentist appointment that morning and had to head straight from the doctor to the theater. Jeremy decided to accompany him before the appointment, but Christine had to help watch her younger siblings for a couple of hours that morning, so she couldn’t leave early enough to join him.

Fortunately Dustin lived only a block away. Christine and her cousin didn’t always get along, but they were still family.

“No,” he replied, closing the door in her face. “Come on Dustin! It’s only for today! I really need a ride to the theater!” “Ask someone else,” he replied, opening the door up just a crack. “Can’t your boyfriend take you or something?”

Christine sighed. “Jeremy doesn’t have a car and Micheal can’t pick me up today. Jake’s car is full already since Chloe’s is currently in the shop and nobody else has a car. Mom and dad are busy and I really don’t want to pull them away from their work to drive me. Please Dustin?” “No.”

Before Dustin could close the door again, Christine stuck her foot into the crack. “You might be able to find new customers. This is a community play so there are kids from other schools.” She didn’t love encouraging him, but she didn’t really think he would have any success and she really needed a ride.

Dustin perked up at this. Ever since Jake had stopped throwing keggers, the demand for alcohol had gone down. Micheal also smoked less now which brought his weed sales down a little. He could use some new business. “Fine,” he finally agreed. “Come on. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter the OCs will make a bit more of an appearance. Dustin will also get a bit more established personality. I’m not really sure why I decided to make him an important player in this, but it’s nice to have a least one established character who isn’t dating anyone!


	5. Beauty and the beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine arrives at play rehersal and meets her new co-lead. Meanwhile, Dustin finds himself in a bit of trouble.

Christine happily skipped all the way from Dustin’s car into the theater. It appeared that she was the first one of her friend group to arrive. Oh well, the rest would show up soon.

She happily climbed up on the stage and started to sing Belle’s first song. She didn’t have her script yet, but she knew all the songs by heart already. When she finished singing, she heard applause from the front row. “Bravo! Bravo!” the young man called out. Christine curtsied. 

He climbed up onto the stage. “You must be playing Belle,” he said extending his hand. “I’m Chris, and I’m playing your prince.” Christine smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Christine. It’s cool that we both have the same nickname! I don’t go by Chris myself, but I guess I could! I’m really excited to be in this play. I’ve been in a lot of plays, but I’ve never done a musical before. None of my friends have either, but we are all really excited for this!” 

As Christine continued to ramble, Chris’s smile faltered a little. He quickly recovered it when she looked his way. “It’s very nice to meet you, Christine. I’m looking forward to working with you!” Chris then gave a slight bow. Christine giggled a little, but was distracted when Jake, Rich, Jenna, Chloe, and Brooke all arrived. 

Jake was grumbling something about how distracting his friends were when he was trying to drive. “You just can’t handle all this hotness around you!” Chloe joked. “I know I can be a lot to handle sometimes!” Jenna added with a wink. “Jake! Are you having fantasies about girls other than me?!” Brooke gasped, pretending to be offended. “Nah! Maybe he’s actually bi after all and I was the tipping factor for him!” Rich suggested, not at all helpfully.

Jake was relieved when he saw Christine. “Christine! Come over and help me please! These guys are driving me insane!” Christine laughed and excused herself, hopping off the stage to join her friends.

Chris made a face as she ran off. He eyed Jake suspiciously. He was clearly the dominant male of the group and his biggest challenge. He then checked out the girls. Christine herself was dorky and one of the other girls was fat, but the other two weren’t half bad. The brunette was the prettiest, but the blond was hot in her own right. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could have a little fun while he was here.

————

The rest of the cast arrived over the next 15 minutes. Micheal and Jeremy made it right as rehersal was supposed to start, red faced and panting as they apologized for being late. As it turned out, they didn’t actually need to worry about being late as the director wasn’t there yet.

Just as they were wondering what became of him, they heard a slight scuffle. The doors flew open and the director emerged dragging Dustin along with him. Dustin was pleading with him, but paused to glare at Christine, before picking back up with it.

“Let me go! Come on! I’m not causing any harm!” The director didn’t let go. “I do not approve of illegal activity outside my theater,” he reprimanded. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong!” Dustin protested, once again glaring at Christine. She sighed.

“It’s okay, Mr. Burns,” Christine called out. “Dustin is my cousin. He drove me here.” Mr. Burns turned to Christine. “This you man was hanging in the shadows outside the theater, sizing up my actors as they entered and making notes on them. When I asked what he was doing, he tried to run.” 

That did sound suspicious, but Christine realized he hadn’t actually seen Dustin do anything bad. “Dustin just really wanted to be a part of the play!” she called out. “He was too scared to actually be on stage, but he was taking notes on what makes an actor a good one! He figured if he got to take a look at us, maybe he could have enough courage for next time!”

Jeremy looked at Christine in surprise. That was definitely a lie. The hatred in Dustin’s eyes confirmed that. Mr. Burns, however, perked up at that and released Dustin’s arm. “In that case, why don’t you join the stage crew? Then you could work closely with the actors without having to perform. We could use the extra hands. It’s a win for everyone!”

Dustin was seething, but he couldn’t see another way out of this. He had a little baggy of pot in his pocket right now and couldn’t afford to be searched. He had been too careless, but he was pretty desperate for new customers and he let his desires get the better of him. He glared once more at Christine before putting on a false smile. “That sounds amazing! Thank you so much for the opportunity!”

Christine winced as the exchange went down. She had only been trying to help him. She supposed that’s what she got for lying. She was going to have to make this up to Dustin somehow, but for now at least play rehersal could finally start!


	6. Something isn’t right here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they start reading the script, Jake starts acting a little funny. Rich starts to suspect Chris of holding a dangerous secret.

The first day of rehersal was just introductions and a read through of the the script. Next time they would start going over the songs. Even though they were just reading, everyone was already starting to get into character. 

Brooke, Chloe, and Jenna swooned and fanned themselves as they talked about Gaston. They seemed to be having a lot of fun obnoxiously flirting with Jake. Rich and Jake seemed to be pretty into it too. By the time they were done reading, everyone had lost count of how many winks and blown kisses Jake had given. Not to mention the fact that he used Rich’s head as an armrest for most of his off time.

Jake was a little less forward when it came to flirting with Christine, however. The arrogant swagger he adopted for the rest of his lines slipped into something more uncertain whenever he spoke to her. This did not go unnoticed by Christine. 

During a break, she grabbed Jake and pulled him aside. “Are you okay?” she asked kindly. Jake looked embarrassed. “I’m fine,” he said, unable to meet her eyes. Christine gently took his hand. “You know I’m not mad at you about what happened when we were dating, right? And you know that Jeremy and I aren’t so insecure in our relationship that some fake flirting from you is going to change anything.”

Jake’s face only grew more red. “I know,” he finally replied. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Now Christine was pretty sure that Jake’s reaction was not one of someone who would be ‘fine,’ but before she could proad him further, they were called back to rehersal.

————

Once they had finished the reading, everyone began to pack up to go home. Micheal offered to take Christine back so she wouldn’t have to deal with Dustin’s wrath. Given that he had already left, she figured that was a good call. She supposed he could always just not show up next time and be done with it. It was unlikely that Mr. Burns would try to track Dustin down and that point.

While everyone was gathering their belongings, Rich made his way to the bathroom. Upon entering, he noticed Chris and said hello. Chris turned to face him. “What do you want, midget?” he asked. Rich’s eyes grew wide in surprise.

“It’s cute how well you fit your role, you know. I guess that’s why your ‘friends’ keep you around!” Chris laughed at his own joke. Rich looked uncomfortable, but said nothing. It was weird to be on the receiving end like this. He wondered if perhaps Chris had a SQUIP as well.

He knew that Jeremy only deactivated the ones that were connected to his, so it was possible. He was certainly acting the way a SQUIPed person would. Rich was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand ruffling his hair. “You really are such a cute little puppy!” Chris said, patting Rich on the cheek. Rich winced.

To his absolute lack of surprise, Chris left without washing his hands. It was a few moments later that Rich realized he hadn’t managed to say a word beyond ‘hello’. Scrunching up his nose, he peed then washed his hands, hair, and face. He also made a mental note to buy Jeremy some candy or something as an apology for touching him with unwashed hands. It was gross.

————

Rich kept his observations to himself until he was alone with Micheal that evening. “You think that he has a SQUIP?” Micheal asked, pulling Rich in close. “Yeah. He was acting pretty similar to how I used to act when I still had mine.” Micheal nodded, concerned. “I don’t have any Mountains Dew Red left,” he admitted. Rich bit his lip. “I was afraid of that. Can you get any more from your contact? I’ll pay for it, so don’t worry about that.”

Michael shook his head. “It’s not the money that’s the problem, Rich. There’s a limited supply of that stuff in existence. It’s not going to be easy to obtain more.” “then what do we do?” Rich asked. “Well, I guess we take to the internet and see what we can find. In the meantime, we should tell the others and try to verify if he actually does have a SQUIP or not.” Rich shook his head. 

“What’s wrong?” Micheal asked. “We shouldn’t tell anyone else,” Rich insisted. Micheal looked confused. “Why? Won’t the be able to help us if they know?” “If he really does have a SQUIP, then the more of us who know, the more likely it will be that his SQUIP learns of our plans to deactivate it and goes on the offensive. Just telling you made this more dangerous.” 

“So it’s just our little secret?” Micheal didn’t really like this. “Yeah, for now I’m afraid it has to be.” Micheal sighed. “Well, at least it’s easy for us to talk alone without arousing suspicion.” Rich grinned. “Did I just hear something about ‘arousing’?” Micheal hit him with a pillow. “Behave yourself!” he scolded. Rich only laughed and snuggled up against Micheal. “Don’t worry babe,” he promised, “I won’t let anything happen to any of our friends. We’ll figure something out.” Michael leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. He hoped Rich was right.


	7. Good morning Belle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dustin debates if it’s worth it to return to play rehersal while Micheal starts investigating Chris.

The next morning Dustin had an important decision to make. It wasn’t like anyone was going to force him to go back. No one really cared where he went and what he was up to most days. As long as he never got caught doing anything bad and passed his classes, his parents were content to let him be. He didn’t think that Christine would be stupid enough to come back to his place and tell him to go either.

Yet for some reason he felt compelled to return. It wasn’t the play; he didn’t care about that at all. It wasn’t his classmates or the director either. It was her. The girl who had smiled at him last time. Jennifer he believed her name was. She wasn’t particularly hot or even really his type, but there was something about the way she looked at him. It was so full of hope and joy.

She looked at him like he was some sort storybook protagonist instead of a school dealer. For some reason that smile meant something to him. She didn’t yet know that he was actually a loser; she thought that he seriously wanted to learn how to act. If he didn’t show up this time, she would learn the truth. And so, against his better judgment, Dustin found himself returning to play practice for the sole purpose of not disappointing some girl he knew literally nothing about other than her name.

————

Christine, Jeremy, and Michael were already there when Dustin arrived. They were sitting in the circle of chairs doing weird vocal exercises. Well, at least he thought they were vocal exercises. Christine did often make weird noises just for the hell of it. Ducking down as he walked by the stage, Dustin made his way to the back of the theater to wait until rehersal started. He had no desire to talk to his cousin if he could avoid it.

Up on the stage, Christine, Jeremy, and Michael were making animal noises because why not? Jeremy attempted to make an elephant noise, but only managed to spray spit everywhere. Michael and Christine both cracked up as he made a face at them.

Michael’s laughter quickly faded when he noticed Chris. He tried his best to observe without staring. Chris certainly had a confident swagger. Michael wasn’t sure what someone like him was doing here. Despite the track records of his friends, musical theater wasn’t usually a popular kids activity. 

Chris hopped up onto the stage and approached the group. “Good morning Belle,” he said smiling way to sweetly. “Bonjour, Gaston,” Christine replied with a little laugh. “Bonjour, mon amie,” Jeremy added, only it sounded more like “bone joor moan amy.” Chris raised an eyebrow. “I assume you are not currently studying French?” he asked. Jeremy snorted.

Micheal watched the exchange closely. Chris seemed nice enough right now, but he couldn’t get the story of Rich’s encounter with him out of his head. Either Chris had something personally against Rich, or he was turning on the charm right now for some reason. Only Michael had no idea why he might be doing that. He and Jeremy certainly wouldn’t offer him any status and Christine wasn’t exactly your typical popular girl either.

But he did seem to be flirting with her pretty heavily. Was he not aware that Christine and Jeremy were dating? “So, what do you think we change up this play a little and have Belle marry Lumiere?” Micheal said, interrupting the conversation. Everyone stared at him. “What?” he protested, trying to sound as innocent as possible. “You two are such a cute couple that I bet you could make even that romance work!”

Jeremy frowned, a little annoyed. He still wasn’t completely over not being able to play the beast and he didn’t appreciate Michael throwing it out there. Especially since he had given up the role partially for Micheal’s sake.

Chris looked surprised. “You two are dating? I thought you were dating Jake.” Christine shook her head. “Jake and I didn’t work out, but Jeremy is a wonderful boyfriend!” Chris blinked a few times, as if he was trying to recompute something. Michael was certain now. Chris has to have a SQUIP. There was just no other explaination he could think of.


	8. Gaston

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Jake tries to take on the role of Gaston, he finds himself lost in some dark thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back with another update. I do still want to work on this fic, but I will probably not update it as frequently as before (think more like a chapter every couple of weeks instead of every day). I do have a roadmap for my story and I still like where it's going, but it gets a little bit more bogged down in the details than some of the other things that I'm writing. With that being said, I hope that you like this chapter and that you will stick with me for the rest of this journey!

Ten minuets later, everyone had arrived and were ready to start. Today they would be going over the songs. They still sounded pretty bad when they all sang together, but they were okay in solos. Christine’s part in “Belle” in particular had Jeremy doey-eyed. The way she sang about longing for adventure made him imagine their first real conversation earlier that year. He was so glad he could be a part of her life now.

Michael was just glad he didn’t have much of a singing part because most of his attention was trained on Chris. Chris’s attention seemed to be mostly trained on Jeremy, but sometimes he turned it to Christine or Jake.

It was hard to not pay extra attention to Jake. Despite how much preparation he put into the role, when it came for him to sing his part to Christine, he tripped over his words and lost the tune. “Cut!” the director called out. “You have the script right in front of you Jake. You don’t need to have the words memorized yet. Just try to sing from it.”

Jake nodded, embarrassed. He was supposed to be the cool and cocky Gaston, yet here was was looking like a fool. The girls all seemed to get into their roles just fine and Rich was quite hilarious in his delivery. They were all playing their parts so well.

And Jake hated it. He hated everything about this. He hated pretending to have swooning fangirls, a loser lackey, and a hopeless desire for a nerdy girl who clearly had nothing in common with him. This wasn’t who he was. This was the stigma he didn’t want to have anything to do with. The girls he hung out with were people, not some potential dating pool. His best friend was one of the coolest people he knew, not at all some short loser with a lisp. And he and Christine might not have worked out, but they were still friends. No, this wasn’t who he was.

Yet when he took on the role, it was hard to remember that. When he threw on the asshole persona, he truly felt like that person. He remembered his toxic relationship with Chloe and the way he cheered Rich on as cool for cheating on Brooke. He remembered how he was at least partially to blame for Rich’s SQUIP telling him to bully others and hide so much of himself. And he remembered how badly he hurt Christine at the party and then immediately had sex with Chloe. He knew that his friends were not the people they were playing, yet he felt so much the character he was playing.

————

After a few more disastrous attempts at singing, Jake was finally freed. As everyone recharged during the break, Jake made his way to the bathroom. Before he could enter, he was stopped by Christine.

“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. Jake nodded. “I’m fine,” he lied. He didn’t want to tell anyone what he was thinking. “I’ve seen you sing before and you aren’t usually like this. It’s okay to be nervous, but no one here is going to judge you. We are all your friends and we love you!” 

Jake looked Christine in the eyes. It was hard to tell if she was just trying to comfort his nerves or if she knew what he was really worried about. Her words could go either way. “Thanks, Christine. I’m lucky to have friends like you.” Christine smiled back at him.

“If you ever need anything, let me know. I’ve been trying harder to be more perceptive of my friends, but I’m not always able to tell when something is wrong. I don’t think I’m still clueless enough to accidentally lead a guy on then say I like someone else, but I don’t really know where I stand now.” 

Jake laughed a little. Jeremy had told him the story of how Christine has gone on and on about some guy she started to notice and asked Jeremy if she should go out with him. Poor Jeremy had been so confused and hurt. He guessed that they all had made mistakes, not just him. 

“No one can always tell what their friends are thinking. You are actually pretty good at it though. But thank you. You really helped me today. I think that next rehearsal I should be able to play a better Gaston.” Christine smiled. “I have faith in you,” she assured him. "Thanks Christine." Jake smiled at her once more before heading to the bathroom. He still wasn’t completely over his fears, but at the very least it didn’t seem like the others saw the similarities he did. He just had to not let his fears take control of him.


End file.
